u never heard anything like it before, especially the
finale, which is the triumph of the ape, and Gringalet escorted in
procession by all the little beast-showers and inhabitants of La Petite
Pologne. On my word and honour, it is not for the sake of boasting, but
it is really superb."

"Then tell it speedily, my boy," said the turnkey, returning towards the
stove.

The Skeleton shook with rage. He almost despaired of accomplishing his
crime. If bedtime arrived, Germain must escape, for he was not in the
same dormitory with his implacable enemy, and on the following day
Germain was to be in a separate cell.

"So it's very stupid!" continued Pique-Vinaigre. "Well, the honourable
company shall be the judge of that. There could not exist a more
vicious brute than the big ape Gargousse, who was even more savage with
children than his master. What does Cut-in-Half do to punish Gringalet
for trying to run away? You shall know by and by. Well, in the meantime,
he seizes on the unhappy child, and locks him into the cock-loft for the
night, saying, 'To-morrow morning, when all your companions are gone
out, I will let you see what I do with vagabonds who try to run away
from me.' You may imagine what a wretched night Gringalet passed. He did
not close an eye, but kept asking himself what Cut-in-Half meant to do
with him, and then he fell asleep. He had a dream,--such a horrid
dream,--that is, the beginning of it was, as you shall see. He dreamed
that he was one of the very poor flies that he had so often rescued from
the spiders' webs, and that he had fallen into a large and strong web,
where he was struggling,--struggling with all his might, without being
able to escape. He then saw coming towards him, stealthily and
treacherously, a kind of monster, which looked like Cut-in-Half turned
into a spider. Poor Gringalet began to struggle again, as you may
suppose, but the more he struggled the more he got entangled, like the
poor flies. At last the spider came up to him, touched him, and he felt
the cold and hairy paws of the horrid beast curl around him and enclose
him, intending to devour him. He believed he was dead, when suddenly he
heard a kind of clear, ringing, sharp sort of buzzing, and he saw a
beautiful golden fly, with a kind of brilliant dart, like a diamond
needle, which flew around the spider with a furious air, and a voice
(when I say a voice you must imagine a fly's voice) which said, 'Poor
little fly! You have sa